Printing device



July 1947- M. ENGLER PRINTING DEVICE Fil ed Sept. 4, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /////7/////////&

- INVENTOR. Max Englzr M 1 ATTORN f Patented July 29, 1947 Max Engler, Akron, ,Ohio, assignor to The General Tire &- Rubber Company, Akron, .Ohio, a

[corporation of Ohio Application September 4, 1944, Serial No. 552,603

4 Claims.

Ihis invention relates :to devices ,for printing upon stock being advanced over a supporting bed, and more particularly toa device suitable for printing upon rubber stock, suchastire-tread stock.

The present invention has for an obj ect toprovide a simple printing device of the character described, which is suitable for printin withan ink containing latex.

It is also an object .of the invention. to: provide an inking mechanism in which. the trans:- fer rollers are so driven that a minimum. excess of ink is maintained at the "bights of the mllers.

.A further object of the invention. is toprovide a printing mechanism thatxis' readily adjustable into and out of operative position with respect to the stock to be printed upon and with. respect An additional object of the inventionisto proa vide a printing device that is movablerinto: and out of printing position: with. respect :to'the'traveling stock, and also adjustable laterally ofthe supporting bed over which thewstolck With the above and other objects in view, the

invention may be said .to comprise the ldeviceoes illustrated in the accompanying drawings, here inafter described and particularly set forth E111 appended claims, together -with.;such -.v ari,at1ons and modifications thereof as will be apparentwto one skilled in the art to which'the inventiompertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification; in

which:

Fig. 1 is .a :top plan view-showing the printing device of the present invention appliedto a horizontal stock feeding bed;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the bed and printing device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line indicated at 33 in Fi 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken on theline indicated at 44 in Fig. 3';

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken on the ili'ne indicated at 5-5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation ,of one'ofi the type clampingplates;

Fig. 7 is a plariview' otfa yne segment. and

Fig. 8 isa side elevation of the segment shown in Fig. .7. 7

Referrin to the accompanying drawings, the printing device of the present invention is shown applied toa stock feed bed which comprises a supporting frame I and a traveling belt 2 upon whichxstock such ,as' tire tread stock Sis carried, a rigid support for the belt 2 such as a roller 3 being provided at the point where the printing operation is performed.

vSuitable guides 4 are attached to the frame I at opposite sides thereof and provide a support below the belt 2 for a transverse slide 5 that carriesstandards \6 which project upwardly on opposite sides of the belt 2. A screw! that is rotatably mounted in a suitable bearing 8* on the frame I has threaded engagement with one of the standards -5 and carries a hand wheel 9 by means of which it may be turned to adjust the slide 5 transversely of the bed.

The standards 6 carry bearingcaps I0 at their upper ends in which a transverse shaft I I is journaledr the shaft II being held against endwise "movement by means of collars I2 attached to and engageable with the inner faces of the caps t0. 'One of the standards 6 has a bracket I3 attached thereto and extendin inwardly over the belt 2 to adjacent the center thereof and supporting at its inner end an inkreceptacle or tray I4 which is positioned adjacentthe shaft I I- and forwardly thereof.

An arm I5 has a collar I'B at its inner end which is attached. to the shaft H and carries a I transverse shaft I'I at its outer end. The shaft LT a printing roller I8 rotatably mounted thereon which isadapted when the arm I5 is in its lowermost position, to engage with the stock S on the belt ,2. A rearwardly extending arm I9 is attached. to the shaft II and has .a counterweightZIl' slidably mounted thereon, the counterweight ,ZII being secured in adjusted position on the arm IB'by means of a set screw 21. The printing roller I8 is normally held by gravity in engagement with the stock and pressure exerted .by the roller I'B- onthe stock is regulated by means of the weight III which isadjustable on the arm T9 to counterbalance as much of the weight of the roller I8 and associated parts as desired.

Adjacent its inner .end, the roller supporting axmfllfiicarries atransverse shaft 2 2 upon which ,a roller .23 is rotatably mounted. The shaft 22 also provides a pivot for an upwardly extending arm 24 \thattcarries a transverseshaft .25 at its outer end, upon which a roller .26 is .rotatably mounted. Intermediate the ends thereof, the

arm 24 has a lateral extension 21 which carries a transverse shaft 28 that supports a roller 29 that has tangential engagement with the rollers 23 and 26. The arm 24 carries a laterally extending bracket 30 that overlies the arm l and which carries an adjustable stop screw 3| that engages with the top edge of the arm 15. The arm 24 is normally supported in a forwardlyinclined position with the screw 3| engaging the arm I5, in which position the upper roller 26 is in position to engage with type carried upon the periphery of the printing roller [8. The arm 24 and rollers carried thereby are held in operative position by gravity, and the arm 24 and its rollers which serve to transfer ink from the tray l4 to the type on the roller I8, can be swung to a position clear of the printing roller when desired. The lower roller 23 is positioned to enter the inking tray l4 when the printing roller is moved downwardly to operative position, the roller 23 being movable upwardly out of the inking tray when the arm I5 is swung upwardly to shift the printing roller l8 to an inoperative position.

The periphery of the roller l8 has frictional engagement with the traveling stock which rotates the'printing roller as it passes beneath the same. The type on the printing roller has frictional engagement with the upper ink transfer roller 26 to impart turning movements to the roller 26 during passage of the type past the 'point of tangential contact. The roller 29 is driven by the roller 26 solely by the friction at its points of tangential contact with the roller 23, and the roller 23 is driven by the roller 29 solely by the friction at its points of tangential contact with the roller 23. When the surfaces of the rollers 23, 26 and 23 are covered with ink the coeiiicient of friction at the points of tangential contact is greatly reduced and only slight torque is transmitted from one of the rollers to another. The reduced friction will cause the roller 23 to slip on the roller 29 and the roller 29 to slip on the roller 23 so that the speed of the 'rollers 23 and 29 is reduced to such an extent that a very thin film of ink will be maintained upon the peripheries of the rollers and Very little ink will accumulate in the bights between the rollers. When the peripheral surfaces of the rollers are dry, the friction is sufficient to cause the rollers to be driven substantially without slippage to quickly wet the rollers, and after the surfaces of the rollers are wet with ink, slippage between the rollers prevents the accumulation of an excess of ink on the roller surfaces. Since the ink employed for printing on rubber often contains substantial amounts of latex, it is desirable that the ink be carried in thin films and that accumulations in the bights of the rollers that might solidify on the rollers be avoided.

The printing roller I8 has a continuous circumferential type receiving seat 32 and a flange 33 at one side which projects outwardly beyond the seat 32. Inwardly of the seat 32 the roller I8 is recessed on the side opposite that having the flange 33, and has an annular positioning shoulder 34 spaced inwardly from the seat 32. The recessed face of the roller 18 has regularly spaced radial grooves 35 which extend inwardly from the seat 32 to the shoulder 34. Type segments 36 are mounted in the periphery of the roller IE! on the circumferential seat 32, and these segments carry raised charactersSl. '.The

segments 36 are clamped against the flange 33 that are mounted side by side with their side edges abutting and with their inner ends resting upon the positioning shoulder 34. The inner faces of the plates 38 are recessed at their outer edges to provide flanges 39 for engagement with the outer side edges of the segments 36 and shoulders 40 for engagement with the inner faces of the segments 36. Each plate 38 is provided with a central radial rib 4| that flts in a radial groove 35 on the side face of the roller I8, and

each plate is provided with a central opening 42 which receives a clamping screw 43 that extends through the opening and screws into the body of the roller 18.

The sector shaped plates 38 are preferably identical as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 and the type segments 36 are preferably of a length corresponding to the width of a sector plate 38 at its outer end. The type segments 36 may be spaced circumferentially on the periphery of the roller I8 with each segment engaged by one of the clamping plates 38. If the ends of the segments 36 are flush with the edges of the plate 38 by which it is held in place, adjacent plates 38 may be adjusted to positions in which they engage the ends of the segments 36 to hold the same against movements circumferentially of the roller.

The roller l8 preferably bears against the stock S'with sufficient pressure to maintain frictional engagement with portions of the roller intermediate the raised type segments, as well as with .the' type segments, so that the peripheral travel the tray by the roller 23 and assists in preventing 'the accumulation of an undesirable excess of ink on. thersurfaces. of the rollers.

.It' is desirable that the transfer rollers be formed of rubber-like material that is resistant to' solvents' that'may be present in the ink and theserollers may, therefore, be advantageously made .of a synthetic rubber composition such as neoprene.

1 It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specific device herein shown and described for purposes of illustration, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

.. What I claim is:

1. A printing device adapted to be mounted adjacent a bed over which the stock to be printed upon may be advanced and comprising a support, an ink tray mounted in fixed position on the support, and a train of tangentially contacting rollers mounted on the support for movement bodily toward or away from the bed, one

end roller of said train beinga printing roller engageable with the stock on said bed and the other end roller being movable with the arm into and out of the ink tray and positioned in the ink tray when the printing roller is in stock engagingposition. v '2'. A printing device adapted to bemounted above a bed over which the-stock to be printed upon may be passed and comprising a support including a, pivot shaft extending transversely over the bed, an ink tray carried by the support alongside the shaft, a vertically swinging arm carried by the shaft and extending past said ink tray, a printing roller carried by the arm at its outer end, and tangentially engaging ink transfer rollers carried by said arm, said arm, being movable about the axis of said shaft to shift the printing roller into or out of stock engaging position, one of said ink transfer rollers being positioned directly over the ink tray, movable with said arm into and out of the tray and positioned in the tray when the printing roller is in stock engaging position and another of said transfer rollers being in tangential engagement with the printing roller 3. A printing device adapted to be mounted above a bed over which the stock to be printed upon may be passed and comprising a support including a pivot shaft extending transversely over the bed, an ink tray carried by the support alongside the shaft, a vertically swinging arm carried by the shaft and extending past said ink tray, a printing roller carried by the arm at its outer end for movement into and out of engagement with the stock, tangentially contacting transfer rollers carried by said arm for transferring ink from said tray to said printing roller, one of the transfer rollers engaging with the printing roller and another being movable into and out of said ink tray as said arm is moved to shift the printing roller into and out of engagement with the stock, a second arm attached to said shaft and a counterweight adjustably mounted on said arm for regulating the pressure with which the printing roller engages the stock.

4. A printing device adapted to be mounted 6 above a bed over which the stock to be printed upon may be advanced and comprising a support, a pivot shaft carried by said support and extending transversely over said bed, a vertically swinging arm carried by said shaft, a printing roller rotatably mounted upon the outer end of said arm and adapted to be driven by frictional engagement with the traveling stock, an ink tray carried by the support adjacent the shaft and in fixed position with respect thereto, and tangentially contacting rollers carried by said arm for transferring ink from said tray to said printing roller, said transfer rollers and printing roller being in tangential contact, each with one of the others, the transfer rollers being driven by the printing roller and one by another solely by friction at the points of tangential-contact of their ink carrying faces.

MAX ENGLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Nuttet al. Jan. 17, 1928 

